U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana, chair of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs' Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, said VA pharmacy staff are struggling with Oracle Health's EHR pharmacy software functions.
"Oracle Cerner EHR pharmacy software functions so poorly that permanent VA pharmacy staff cannot efficiently or accurately process veterans' prescriptions," he said at the VA's modernization hearing July 22, according to a July 22 news release. "I have serious concerns that the VA is putting the veterans it cares for in a dangerous situation by continuing the large-scale implementation of this unreliable system. The Oracle Cerner EHR is simply not dependable enough to guarantee bare minimum effectiveness and its rushed implementation will spell disaster for vets."
In February, Mr. Rosendale said Oracle made a software update last April that corrected some of these errors, but that "there is still no solution to many of the others."
The VA has been working on a widespread rollout of the Oracle Health EHR system since 2020. Mr. Rosendale has been critical of the rollout, stating that the EHR system is unreliable. This comes as the VA medical facilities that rolled out the software have reported issues with the system.
The VA ended up pausing the rollout of the Oracle Health system at additional VA facilities in April 2023 in order to renegotiate a contract with Oracle, but VA CIO Kurt DelBene said in December that the VA planned to continue with the program in the summer of 2024.